07.07.07

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY JEN!!! This is your special, special day....07.07.07! I hope its a great one!

Yesterday, Nana, the girls and I met with the radiologist who will be putting my chest port in. He was very informative and let me know all my other options if I chose not to go with the chest port. I am definitely not one for the details when it comes to a surgical procedure so I asked him to leave that part out. :) He did ask that I commit to keeping the chest port in for a minimum of 1 year. I was concerned because my Infusion Nurse told me that they liked it in for 2 years. I don't really want to keep it after I beat cancer but I understand that it's important to be in remission before the port is removed. The doctor will be putting in the chest port right before my next Chemo Treatment. It will actually be the same day as my treatment; July 17th.

Today, Nana, Josh, the girls and I, made a trip to Costco. It was time to stock up on the bottled waters, cat food, toilet paper you know all the bulk items. I absolutely love going to Costco but I always tend to spend too much money. I did find a really nice portable umbrella. It's recommended by the American Cancer Society because of how well it protects you from the UV Rays of the sun. I figured when the girls are swimming in the pool, I can set myself a nice shade area up.

Well, I think its time for a little nap. Hope you're all having a great weekend.

xoxo

Jane

A Little Too Much Energy

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. I haven't been on for a couple days so I thought I would update everyone on how my first treatment went.

I showed up at the hospital at 8:00 in the morning and didn't get leave until about 2:00 in the afternoon. The nurse Judy told me that my first treatment would take longer than the rest because they have to give me the medicine slow. As I mentioned before, my treatment consists of 4 medicines...I made it through the 3rd one just fine. When I was about half way finished with the 4th one, I started to feel a little nauseous. Needless to say, I ended up getting sick. The Oncologist Pharmacist had to give me special stuff to get my stomach to calm down. Judy was surprised that I had gotten sick. She said that they hadn't had anyone get sick that far through the first treatment. Leave it to me to be different.

I got home and pretty much slept the rest of the day. This was a nice change for me considering I haven't been able to sleep very well lately. I didn't feel any pain, I actually felt pretty normal again. I slept all through the night without waking once.

On Wednesday, the 4th of July, I got up and felt more energy than I had in a long time. Still no pain. I decided to put this energy to work :) Since I own my own business and work from home, it makes it easier to make up time that I've missed. After working on some files for a while, I started unpacking more boxes, cleaning the kitchen and also got some laundry done. It felt so good to get so much stuff done.

Josh made a really nice dinner for us and then we relaxed while waiting for the firework show to start. The show was suppose to start at 9:00 but didn't end up starting until about 9:30. To find out, our house is in the best spot. We sat on our front lawn and saw the whole show that the city put on. We're selling tickets next year :) just kidding! It was time to go to bed after the fireworks. I woke up this morning starting to regret the fact that I did so much yesterday. What was I thinking? Needless to say, I'm sort of paying for it. I think its time for me to go relax for a while.

XOXO

Jane

IT'S TIME

It's official. I have my first chemo treatment in the morning!

I'm not gonna lie, I'm really nervous. Probably won't sleep very well tonight. To be honest, I havn't been sleeping very well the last couple nights. I go through my phases....a couple good nights and then several bad nights. Please chemo don't waste anytime killing this cancer :)

On a different note, did anyone else watch Hell's Kitchen tonight? I can't believe that Chef Ramsay moved Melissa to the men's team. Gotta love when a twist is thrown into the game.

It's time for me to hit the sack. Thanks again for all your comments. I would love to hear how everyone is spending their 4th of July??? Any big plans???

xo :)

Jane

My New Haircut

Taylor, Hailey and I spent some girl time together this afternoon. We went to Target and did a little shopping and then off to Fantastic Sams for some haircuts. Only Hailey and I got our haircut. Taylor told me she doesn't want to cut hers until it is long enough to give to me. I'm not sure that she understand everything that is going on but she sure is trying.

When I got home, Josh had yesterday's mail sitting on the counter. I received the information I requested from the Lymphoma Reasearch Foundation. They sent me an 85 page booklet "Understanding Hodgkin's Lymphoma, A Guide for Patients". I know what I'm doing tonight :)

I want to thank those of you who have started reading my blog and sending me your comments. They mean so much to me. Please consider yourself hugged. I love you all!

Chemo Consult

Yesterday was a little scary for me. We went and met with Connie (one of my nurses) to go over what I should expect during my Chemo treatments. Thanks to a new friend I've met, a lot of the information wasn't a surprise. Please check out her website at www.chemopalooza.com Her name is Kelly, she is 5 years younger than me to the day. We have the same birthday. She was diagnosed last December with Hodgkin's Lymphoma also.

The nurse gave me some hand outs on the medicine I will be taking during Chemo. I should be getting a call on Monday to schedule my first treatment.
ABVD
1. Adriamycin also known as Doxorubicin (doc-oh-ROO-bi-sin)
2. Bleomycin (blee-oh-MYE-sin)
3. Vinblastine (vin-BLAS-teen)
4. Dacarbazine (da-KAR-ba-zeen)

There is a pretty high chance that I am going to loose my hair. According to the nurse I will have chemo treatments every 15 days for 6 to 8 months. Each treatment takes about 4 hours. The day beofre each scheduled treatment I need to get blood drawn so they can check my white blood cell count. If it gets to low, I may have to delay that treatment until we can get it back up. I was given a lot of information, luckily Josh was there also to help me take it all in.

After the appointment, Josh took me to Target and let me pick out an Ipod so I can listen to music during my treatments. I bought an accordion folder to keep all my paperwork straight. It has a matching spiral binder so I can keep notes in. I also bought some puzzle books and a new John Grisham book. I'm not sure if I will feel like reading but just in case. So I decided I should also buy a tote bag to keep all of my stuff together. I'm trying to stay as organized as I can through this craziness.

My Oncologist wants me to get a Portacath (Port) in. I have an appointment July 6th for the consult. According to the booklet the nurse gave me; a port is a small plastic or metal container surgically placed under the skin and attached to a central venous catheter inside the body. Blood and fluids can enter or leave the body through the port using a special needle. The good news in, I won't be awake for that procedure.

On July 9th, I have to get another needle biopsy done. This time it is for bone marrow. When they did the needle biopsy last time into the tumor, I was awake for that. I believe I will be awake for the bone marrow biopsy. Some people have major phobias because of spiders, snakes or hieghts. Mine are needles and surgery. I really get myself worked up to the point I get nauseas. I spoke with the nurse about my fears yesterday and she told me that they will prescribe me a medicine that will make me not care what they do. :)

I should probably go get dressed for the day since its almost noon. Since I quit smoking I have put on some weight (which I really don't need) so I have decided that I am going to be as comfortable as I can through this process. I have invested in cotton shorts and pants with elastic waistbands. They are actually pajama pants, you know the ones with all the fun designs on them. The one's the teenagers where around town. I have Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Chilies, Plaid, and ones my sister-in-law gave me that are from Tennessee. I know these treatments are going to be tough on me, so I am going to try and be as comfortable as possible.

Okay, like I said earlier, its time to get my day moving. Thanks for taking the time to real my blog.

Love ya,
Jane